Looking-Glass
by Illisandria Carthain
Summary: Dib finds a game online, one he may be good at! But nothing is ever as it seems in Wonderland.
1. Pawn to A3

(A/N: A bit of a before-chapter schmoo-rant. I never realized how close-knit this fandom is. I've read hundreds of stories in the IZ world and in almost every one someone is mentioned as thanks. So I went and looked up that someone and THEY had mentioned someone. Repeat and voila - same result. This led me round and round and round until I reached this conclusion. The ones who truly (Sorry to you who don't fit this category) care about the quality and the work of the writers of this (and probably many other fandoms) are the ones who get mentioned in the author's notes or summaries. And those people (provided they write and don't just have an account to leave reviews (though with the addition of anonymous reviews it makes it rather easy to do that anyway…)) have people they want to thank for hours of reading and weeks of waiting for the next chapter so they could offer some advice on it to improve their writing style. And that made me think: I wonder how many amazing writers started out as fangirls/guys who wrote fanfictions on this site and found that one person who would read their story - every chapter of it - and review with not just sweet encouraging words, but with words that opened some wounds to make them stronger. Wellp, food for thought my dear kiddies! And now back to your regularly scheduled program!)

-x-

Dib sighed deeply, his work finally done. He had searched the entire web for those pieces, those hidden encrypted files that, once he had decoded and descrambled them, had joined together to make this game, this MMORPG called "Looking-Glass". He smiled as the game loaded, the graphics were incredible, so life-like and seamless, no polygonal structure was visible and the people moved like…people. The sound too astounded him (not that he had ever really played any MMOs, they never seemed to hold his attention long enough), every tiny note perfectly in pitch and so lifelike that he looked around for a second, half expecting a bird to fly overhead and drop a bomb right on the shoulder of his coat. He clicked the 'START' button and sat back as the opening sequence played.

A soft meadow scrolled by, all flowers and blue sky. Then it crossed a boundary and changed into a filthy world, one where the ground bled and the trees wept acids, scarring the rocks beneath them. The voice over began, the narrator being a young girl with a pure crystal tone, "This is Wonderland. It exists between the Realms of dreaming and awake. Here your Dreams are real, your deepest Desires manifested. Yet there is something amiss - a fracture in the Realm. The Black Queen's mirror is beginning to swallow everything, devouring the kind world of Wonderland and turning it into her own twisted image, her own Heart's Desire. We need you to return again to Wonderland, O ye the hero of lore, and reclaim the throne as thy own. But beware, the Queen doth creep, she lurks in the shadows and may tempt you. Be pure, be wise, see through the lies. Make hidden Desire come to light and lift the Kingdom from its Plight." The screen pulled back to reveal a small lapin form wearing a vest and clutching to a gilded pocket watch. It smiled and bowed, "Hello Traveler. Welcome to Wonderland. Would you like to take the tutorial or continue without advisement?"

Dib's brow furrowed, 'I found this game and decoded it and pieced it back together. I don't think I need any help.' He clicked on 'NO', 'and it's no fun if I get babied through the game.'

"Ah…well then," his Guide smiled jovially and bowed, "Shall we get started? Please choose your class."

Dib scrolled through the classes, studying their pros and cons. "Knight: a brave and fearless warrior wielding a sword in the name of Good. His heavy armor protects him from many blows but impedes movement." He muttered to himself, "Rook: a strong warrior, quick and formidable. Defense is compromised in attacks, however. Bishop: long-range magic-user. Is useless once spells run out of energy." He scoffed slightly, the thought of a mage running out of power ludicrous, "Pawn: and agile fist fighter. Has no extraordinary skills." He frowned, 'Has no extraordinary skills?' His mouse hovered over each of the choices, Rook, Knight, Bishop, and Pawn. He clicked the mouse and his Guide frowned slightly.

"Are you SURE that you want to go with this choice?" it asked, "Once you choose, there is no going back."

"Of course I'm sure…" Dib rolled his eyes and clicked the button again.

"If you insist…" his Guide seemed a tad peeved at his choice but he seemed to perk up immediately, "Do you wish to create a Sleeper or would you like to use a pre-made Reflection?"

Dib bit his lip in deep thought, suddenly wishing he had taken the tutorial. 'Sleeper I'm assuming is a custom-made avatar of your choosing so a Reflection must be a randomly generated avatar….I think if I take too much time playing this Gaz'll find me out and when she does, she'll kill me for keeping this game a secret from her…so I guess I'll go with-' he clicked 'REFLECTION' and shuddered slightly as his Guide stared at him with cold, unblinking pink eyes.

"Generating Reflection…" it noted chipperly and a small ornate hourglass rotated, transferring its sands from top to bottom and vice versa. "Finished!" his Guide smiled and Dib just stared. When they meant Reflection - he didn't think they meant THIS.

On the screen was an accurate representation of Dib. His avatar, his Reflection, was four-foot nine like him and had his scythe-shaped 'do and mahogany eyes beneath rounded glasses. This wasn't just accurate; it was SCARILY accurate, perfect down to the very details.

"Now, to proceed; there are very few playing this Game as it is very exclusive, only the brilliant or the forcible know of this Game. Therefore beware those who you encounter…they may not be who you think they are…" his Guide stared at him again (Dib was sure it was AT him and not out of the screen…he didn't quite know why though…a hunch?) and then smiled, it's whiskers twitching, "I'll always be here if you need me, just ask." Then it disappeared as the spawning area loaded.

Dib gaped, around him (his Reflection) was a large field similar to the one in the opening but more of it was okay and not all…evil and stuff. He moved his Reflection around experimentally and smiled, it moved like him too. Then he frowned, something felt off…

The music changed and became a menacing piece in a minor key, throbbing with bass and low reeds. A large rat lurched up, balancing on its hind legs, red in the eyes and slavering at the mouth. 'Holy crap!!! This thing is HUGE!!!' Dib moved his Reflection to dodge and then duck, 'Think…what would Gaz say?...'

An image of Gaz popped up in his head, unbidden and growled, 'Dib…I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL ME ABOUT THIS GAME!!!!' Dib jumped, his Reflection dodging again. He focused his mind on Gaz again, thinking about her L33T 64M3R 5K1LLZ this time. This time the image was less scary, 'Left click on the monster, right click on "ATTACK". Look up shortcuts in the "HELP" section next time you WHINER!!!!'

He shuddered, "A little TOO realistic for my tastes…" he muttered to himself, loving her as an older brother would nonetheless. He followed her instructions, left click the monster (which locked on to it and opened up a small scrolling browser interface), clicked 'ATTACK' , and sat back and watched his Reflection do the rest.

The Game-Dib raised his hands in the air and lashed a quick jab to the monster, lowering its health slightly. Then it repeated, almost automatically dodging another slow swipe from the rat. This went on and on ad, after about thirty or so jabs, the rat fell. "KO!!!!" Dib grinned and pumped his fist excitedly. Then the rat's corpse shimmered and, in the place of the dead monster was a card. Dib('s Reflection) picked it up. It was the joker. "Odd…" Dib tilted his head and watched in amazement as his Reflection glowed, the text "30 EXP EARNED". He sighed contently; maybe this WAS worth missing a few nights of sleep over.

-x-

The Rabbit reported angrily, "Madam, another has arrived!"

"Is he worthy of me? Who is he? His class - his alignment - TELL ME…"

"Erhm…" the Rabbit sweated slightly, "He is Dib and he's a Free Pawn…madam…"

There was a furious silence, "A FREE PAWN?!"

"Y-yes madam…"

"But why? All the others have picked something worth a little more power or promise than a PAWN…And FREE?! There has NEVER been a Player of Free alignment! This is unprecedented!!! Very unprecedented…" the silence that followed ended prematurely, "Keep a VERY close eye on this one."

The Rabbit bowed, "Yes madam."

"You may leave." And he did.

-x-

(A/N: So…I like this one. Lately I've found myself becoming rather Dib-centric in my fics…gotta break free of that before it becomes a ZADR-centric…of course, I AM a fangirl and I DO like me a steamy ZADR now and then…NO!!! No ZADR for Illisandria! *smacks face with own hand* And now back to your usually mundane lives…but, before we do…R&R lest the Black Queen's mirror devour your soul and corrupt your God-given form into that of a filthy monster (on the outside…on the inside you'd be goo…). Ta~)


	2. Knight to A3

(A/N: Another pre-fanfic Author's Note. Thanks be to all of you in the IZ fandom! I enjoy your presence. I used to be part of the expansive Naruto fandom but, even though millions of people read my stories, I got very little reviews. In this fandom, every third person that reads my fics review them too. That make's me feel all fuzzy inside. So - Chapter two of Looking-Glass (yes, there IS supposed to be a hyphen in the title. FF's just stupid…) YAAAAY!!! Braaaaaains….)

-x-

Dib tried not to yawn as he walked to Skool the next morning. He was so tired from playing that game but it was so addictive! He had stayed up all night and now he was dead tired… 'Oh, Gaz's talking to me…' his brain kicked into high gear and he caught the end of her tirade.

"—Do you have any idea what that's like?!!!" she finished, actually LOOKING UP from her Game Slave.

"Mmm-? Oh, yeah…" he sighed yawning slightly. He learned that it was much better to agree with her when she's like this.

"So you see WHY I had to punch him in the gut. I mean—" His brain trailed off again and he pretty much didn't notice the rest of the walk to Skool until he ran headfirst into the door. He fell flat on his butt and rubbed his head with a look of confusion on his face. Gaz (and the rest of the Skool) laughed at him.

"Foolish Dib-worm!!! You didn't even have the brain-meats to see the door!!! What a _garshleeve_!!!" Zim chortled loudly. He stepped up in his usual manner and used Dib as a doormat, wiping his feet on his coat as he entered the brainwashing facility.

He got up and dusted himself, trying desperately to dust the mud off his coat, "What was that Dib?" Gaz asked him, a hint of amusement still in his voice. "I mean, you're never this clumsy or this stupid! Did you stay up all night plotting against Zim again?!" There was almost concern in her voice. "Because if you did then I have to kill you because now I'm known as the crazy, clumsy boy's sister!"

He sighed and waved her away heading to Ms. Bitters' classroom, dreading the emotional and verbal abuse that awaited him there. As he stepped in the room, a set of chalkboard erasers fell on his head and Zim's voice was heard, "BANZAI!!!"

Dib just shook the chalk dust out of his hair and sat down, his head resting on his chin wearily. Their creepy teacher appeared in a flash of smoke and fire and sat down, her back creaking as she adjusted her 'S' shape to fit the backing of the seat. "Today class, we will be learning of the hideous American custom of 'Toss the Turtle' and how, one day a turtle being launched out of a cannon five meters off the ground angled at thirty-five degrees to the horizon, shot with a force equivalent to thirty-seven and a half Newtons, will hit one of you in the head, causing you to implode." She began her daily 'Doom' lecture.

Zim raised his hand in the air, "Ooh, ooh!!! Teacher-drone!!!"

She glared at him, "Yes?..."

"Wouldn't the probability of it hitting Dib's gianormous cranium be, like, one hundred fifty-four percent greater than it hitting one of ours?" The students laughed at the idea and Dib just sighed.

"Yes Zim…I see that he gets it. So the rest of you, for being pointless failures, will have to write a one hundred-thousand word essay on turtles and the physics of them." Dib raised his hand slowly, "NOTH the meta-physics of them Dib." His hand slowly went down and he yawned again. "Now…where was I? Oh yes - and your head will implode creating a chain reaction in all the atoms of the world making the entire universe destroy itself in a Big Bang style thing…" the old crone droned on and Dib slowly dozed off, his fingers aching for more of that game.

-x-

Dib rubbed the front of his face angrily, how was HE supposed to know that she had a cattle prod? And for another thing…"What are you doing?!"

Gaz looked up from his computer, "Looking for something."

"Get out of my room!!!" Dib tried to shoo her out, succeeding only in near getting his finger bit off.

"Don't touch me." she hissed. "My Game Slave died and I figured that there should have been a reason that you were up so late last night so I had to come and see if it was a game 'cause if it was…" the air around her grew heavy and Dib shivered, the threat unfinished.

"Look, there's no game so can you get out?!!!" he actually touched her and tried to shove her out the door.

"I'm watching you Dib…you just wait, I'll find out what you're doing eventually…Eventually…" she left the room and Dib sighed gratefully, she hadn't found it.

Well of course she hadn't found it! He had taken the game apart and re-encrypted it and re-scrambled it and hid it again, knowing she wouldn't have the time to go and put it together. "Okay…" he said, cracking his knuckled, "Time to get back to work…"

-x-

Dib dodged and parried another monster's attack, the three that surrounded him doing absolutely no damage to his small agile form. He swiftly punched them in their weak points and grabbed the cards that appeared on the ground, watching a "360 EXP gained" icon pop up, the EXP healing him. Then he looked at the cards in his hands. Jokers again… He sighed. He had killed over fifty monsters now and he had still only found Jokers. It was getting rather annoying. Then he held out his hand and his Guardian appeared, "Yes?"

He clicked the 'HELP' button. Then he clicked the 'INQUIRY' button. "What are the purpose of the cards?" he typed in.

"The Cards determine your alliance. This world is divided into four forces, the Hearts, the Spades, the Diamonds, and the Clubs. Each time you defeat a monster you get a Card. The higher the Card, the higher your rank. If you reach the 'King' 'Queen' or 'Jack' rank, you can challenge each leader respectively for their title. When you become King you will rule the Suit." His whiskers twitched and he huffily adjusted his vest. "Any other questions?"

He clicked 'EXIT' and the small lapin man hopped off to God knows where. Dib readjusted his fingers on the keyboard, he had been playing for hours now and his hand was starting to cramp up. He walked off, slowly exploring the field known as A-3. Having seen every square inch he was bored. 'How am I supposed to leave this patch of dirt?...' he thought angrily. Then the music changed to a tune he didn't recognize. It was like the monster tune in the respect that it was in a minor key, but it seemed creepy, not malevolent. As he pondered this, a man on a white horse rode up.

"Hallo'!!!"

Dib blinked (so did his reflection) and he answered, his fingers flying over the keyboard, the synthesizer doing the rest, making a rather convincing remake of his voice. "H-Hi…"

"Who are you?!"

"Me?"

"No, the rat next to you…" the Knight rolled his eyes, "of course you! What's your Card?!!!"

"M-my card?..." Dib stared at the Joker in hand , the Suit-less Card in his hand, "I-I don't know…"

"Ah…a n00b, eh?"

"Kinda…"

"You're level five though…a pretty strong n00b…how long you been here?"

"A day…"

"Heh," the Knight laughed, "Lucky…took me a week to get that far…" then his eyes hardened and he scowled. "Sorry 'bout this…" he lowered his lance and pointed it at Dib's forehead, "But in the name of the Queen of Spades, I'm going to have to kill you…"

-x-

(A/N: CLIFFHANGER!!!!!! And, for those of you who luuurve me~ THANKIES!!! Oh! And anyone who can give me the answer to the Physics problem I put in here you get a request fic! So R&R or the Knight of Spades will 0WN UR N008 4R53!!!! So SAYETH THE GODDESS OF THIS REALM - 'SANDRIA!!!!!)


	3. Knight to A3 cont

(A/N: Special thanks to ngrey651 for answering the question right!!!! YAAAY!!! So, for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting a chapter…chapter three of Looking-Glass!!!!)

-x-

Dib dodged the Knight's angry lunge with the lance, his horses hooves thundering past his hear, narrowly missing his head by and inch or so. "What in the name of Bigfoot's toe-hair are you doing?!!!" he screamed.

"Can't you see—" he lunged again, Dib dodging the attack easily, "That I'm trying—" another failed attack, "To get rid—" another miss, "OF a possible enemy of the—" this time Dib predicted it and moved way before he could even get near him, "Suit of Spades?! As the White Knight, the Knave of Spades it is my duty to rid the Deck—" he stabbed at him this time, a short sporadic slash with the ungainly lance, "of possible enemies of the King and Queen of Spades!' He near threw down his lance in frustration, "Why won't you just HOLD STILL?!!!"

Dib grinned, remembering the stats button and checking the Knight's stats. LVL:20, HP:125, ATK:83, DEF:65+38, DEX:13. He chuckled softly, this Knight's attack and defense were nothing to sneeze at but he couldn't move worth crap. "Personally," he said without missing a beat, "I think you're just pissed. I think you hate the fact that I got to level five way before you did and this is your way of pitching a fit, by PKing me and then T-bagging my PWND Reflection." He had picked up all those terms from is shoulder-Gaz who was hissing insults at the Knight and insisting that Dib 'OWN H15 N00B 4R53!!!!!', whatever that meant… "And I think this is a petty waste of time. I could just as easily dodge you and then wear you down because your dexterity skills are lacking but…I don't have the time to be doing that. So get off your high horse and pull out your sword and fight me like a real man."

The Knight obliged and removed his sword from his sheath and suddenly Dib didn't think that was such a smart idea, looking at his attack stats again. "Okay…" the Knight's voice was level and he was rather calm for wanting to chop Dib's head off, "We fight this way…" Then the battle began anew and it was the same old routine, with a twist. When the Knight first attacked Dib barely dodged the shrieking sword with only inches to spare. "Harder to dodge now, eh?!!!"

Dib slipped behind the Knight after three or so well broadcasted moves and reared back to punch him in the chest and hissed as HIS HP went down ten points. Above him, Shoulder-Gaz smirked, 'Stupid. His defense is higher than your attack with that armor on, every attack you make will only hurt you the difference. Find an unprotected part of this dolt and take him down!' He sat back and watched like he was advised to. He simply dodged and taunted and taunted some more. Then his redemption came. The Knight sat his helmet down and began to huff visibly.

Dib grinned, "Tired?"

"You're so hard to attack! I mean," the Knight sighed even heavier, "I'M the superior gamer here!!! You're the n00b!!! Why can't I PK you?! I'm FIFTEEN levels higher than you and I can't just wave my hand and OWN you!!!" he began to whine, finally hefting the sword back up, "And only one person has gotten away with doing this to me and she'll pay soon enough…"

Dib's ears perked, "Who would that be?"

"Aw…some girl with purple hair…she dropped me out of an elevator off the fiftieth floor of the Battery Building…made me rather mad…"

'It's Iggins…' Shoulder-Gaz growled, 'KILL HIM…'

Dib dodged a horizontal cut to the neck area and whipped his foot underneath Iggins, "Oopsie-daisy!" he grinned as the Knight hit the floor with a 'clang!' that echoed through his armor. "Now…let's see if this works…" he gave a swift punch to Iggins's unarmored face and heard a satisfying 'snap' as the HP bar flickered down a handful of points. "Ah, yes…that does work.." he noted the strategy for later, there was no doubt now that he would be attacked by other Players.

"Owwww!" Iggins squealed and clutched his injured proboscis indignantly. "What was that for?"

"Two things…for being a total git, and for insulting my sister…"

His eyes widened and the blood seeped down into his shirt, "You're-?"

"Yup…that 'girl' is my sister…any last words?" Dib was surprised, where had all this come from? He certainly wouldn't ever say that to anyone in real life!

"Eeh…erhm…of c-c-course…" Iggins looked as though he had wet himself, "P-p-p-please don't hurt me…" he sniveled.

Shoulder-Gaz's words weren't even needed, 'FINISH HIM'. He punched over and over and over again, the seemingly weak punches slowly wearing out the Knave of Spade's HP down to nothing. Then, in the place of the pitiful Knight, was a Deck of 52 Cards (all Jokers) and a small glimmering….Something.

"105123 EXP gained" floated above his head and his Pawn gained four levels. He stared at the Something in his hand and shrugged, putting it away in his inventory. Then he summoned his Guardian and clicked 'HELP' then 'MAPS'. A small scroll plopped into Dib's hand and he opened it and giggled.

Wonderland's layout was that of a giant chessboard, checkered squares from end-to-end, two large citadels at each end of the board (one black, one white) and four smaller castles with hamlets were in a square pattern on the board, each labeled with a Suit: Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, and Clubs. He rubbed his chin, "So the Suits are the four rivaling Houses…the Black Queen is most likely to be at the Black end of the map while the White is behind me in the White citadel…so I need to get from here-" he pointed to A-3 where he was, "-to here…" he dragged his finger to the square all the way across the map. "Looks like I've got a ways to go…" he shrugged and paced the square field again, "But how to get off A-3?..."

Then his Shoulder-Gaz tapped him on his forehead, 'Hey, genius…one: it's five in the morning and you have to go to Skool today and two: the real me is coming to get you up…' then she 'poofed' into nonexistence, leaving Dib very afraid for his life.

"Oh dear…" he rushed to save and pull the game apart again and making it seem he was reading alien articles and was discerning truth from lie.

"Dib! Dad says get up!"

He sat up, faking the 'just-woke-up' Look, "Hmmm?...oh…m'kay…be right down…" she left and he grabbed his computer and stuffed it into this travel-bag. This game was too much fun!

-x-

The Rabbit bowed low, "Madam…he has vanquished one mush higher than he…."

She was livid, "What?! And we were not told of his progress sooner?!"

He stuttered, softly fixing his glaring verbal error, "That is…I mean to say…he has defeated the White Knight: Knave of Spades…madam…"

There was a cold silence again, longer than its predecessor. Then she broke it, "We will test him, no? We will rain doom upon his miserable little head…and when we are done - we will devour him." She laughed daintily, eerily, "We will eat up every bit of the him-ness that he is and we will use it for our own! Just you wait…"

-x-

(A/N: HAAAA! Betchu' never saw THAT one coming!!!! I've never written for Iggins before so…sorry if it comes off weird…the entire fic's kinda OOC so…anywho! For those good little girls and boys who heeded 'Sandria's call to review - an emote!

**(87**

It's a happy Dib!!! LOL~ And now, the daily review-monster threat: R&R or…'Sandria will resurrect Iggins and tell him YOU'VE got a third-gen copy of GS IV AND the Japanese version of VPH XIV. HA!!! Bow before the plotbunnies!!!!! *does little dizzy dance and grins like a maniac monkey* and that's why - little kiddies - 'Sandria is no longer allowed near the Coke and Wheaties at ten at night…Ta~)


	4. Pawn to A4

(A/N: I've become rather happy writing before-fic author notes so today starring in my AN is NNY!!!!!  
Nny: …hello?  
*sound of gun going off and lots of screaming*  
Me: O.o …erhm…as it seems Nny has successfully killed himself (again) *pokes Nny's dead body curiously with a pointy stick*. I'll just move on to the next and latest (unless you're reading chapter five) chapter of Looking-Glass!)

-x-

"And that is why fangirls should never be allowed near the internet after two days of no sleep and five bottles of Coke with three Pixy Stix." Ms. Bitters finished as the class shook from over in the corner, all of them wide eyed except for Dib who was snoozing at his desk.

Dib rolled his head slightly, spreading drool on his face, "No…I could do that in my sleep…"

"IT'S THE ATTACK OF THE ZADR FANGIRL POSSESION OF DIB!!!!!!" Zim shrieked, pale yellow from shock, "QUICK! While he's sleeping, BURN THE WITCH!!!!!!!!"

Dib jolted awake from a nice dream-conversation with his shoulder-Gaz. "Nng, eh?" He noticed Zim pointing at him like he was insane…or a homicidal maniac. "Wait, what?!"

"You were asleep?..." The Letter M asked, "The ENTIRE TIME?!!!!"

"The entire time of what?..."

The entire class facepalmed and looked at Zim angrily, "You may be more insane than Dib man…"

"LIES!!!!!" Zim shrieked and dashed to the door as the bell rang.

Dib slowly trudged home, dragging his feet as he went. 'Uurgh…still stuck on A-3….and I spent all night trying to get off and the only thing I succeeded inn doing was level up again…' he ran face-first into Gaz who gave hm a 'Go **** yourself and die' Look (patent pending) "Oh, sorry Gaz…'

"What in the name of the almighty Jhonen Vasquez is wrong with you?!!!" she gave him her Look again (version 2.0: 'if you even think about opening your big mouth I'll castrate you with a spoon through your butt').

"Sorry…haven't been sleeping much…stuff I had to do…" he rubbed his nose and began to methodically trudge to their home, "And really sorry about running into you…if you need me, I'll be in my room…" he waved her off and walked back to his room and opened up his laptop, reassembling Looking-Glass and turning it on. "Okay…" he mumbled to himself deliriously, "Time to get off this stupid piece of turf…"

The Reflection-Dib stood up and looked around angrily. He summoned his Guardian and clicked 'HELP' then 'INQUIRY' button and typed in, "How do I move from field to field?"

The small man huffed angrily, "Each Class can move in a certain pattern. For a Pawn as yourself it means you can only move in the forwards direction one field at a time unless attacking another Player or NPC. In order to move you click 'HELP', go to 'MAP' and click the field where you want to go and voila! You're where you need to go!'

Dib facepalmed, leaving a red mark on his forehead, "Of course…" he muttered, "One of the most brilliant minds of the century and I can't even figure out how to move from field to field in a GAME…"

'Well that's cause you're a useless n00b - even if you ARE level ten you're still a n00b…' Shoulder-Gaz sneered as she leaned against Dib's shoulder, her shoulders touching his ear.

'I HERD U LIEK TACOS!!!!!' GIR squealed from Dib's other shoulder.

"Uh…okay…" he blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, "Now I KNOW I'm tired…I really should remember never to eat the Skool lunch when they serve Jell-O…" when he opened his eyes again Shoulder-GIR was still there, "Well I suppose if I've got a sensible L33T voice of reason I've got to have an idiot too…balance IS good…" he reminded his OCD self.

He looked back at the screen and pulled up the map and clicked the field labeled 'A-4'. There was a bright flash of light and then Dib found himself in a completely different area. Unlike the pretty meadow that he was in before, this area was a barren wasteland covered in nasty-looking man-eating plants. The only trees that were there grew on a small patch of green and looked like they had been in some sort of horrible accident and wound up with accident-related severe scoliosis on top of arthritis and old age. The monsters here looked like lizards and they carried weapons. Dib clicked on one of them experimentally and nearly fell out of his chair. "L-Level fifteen?!!!" He looked at his Shoulder-Gaz who just smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Even though I OWND Iggins, a level fifteen NPC is…RAWRGH!!!" he growled in frustration, forgetting that Gaz (the real one) could hear him sort of.

"SHUT UP DIB!!!!" she yelled from her bedroom, the glow of her Gameslave tinting her face an eerie green-blue, "IF I DIE HERE I HAVE TO START ALL OVER AND YOU DON'T WANT THAT!!!!!"

He shuddered, he did NOT want that…he turned his face back to his game and began to cautiously explore the area. He got about four feet into it when he was jumped by a lizard.

"Ngyaa!!!" he dodged and landed a punch or two, dropping the monster's HP by a bit. Then, as he went to dodge a predictable attack, the lizard changed its attack and clubbed him in the head. "What?!"

'They're learning…' Shoulder-Gaz remarked, 'It's a learning game…the farther you get and the longer you spend fighting these opponents, the smarter they get…'

'I SAYD I HERD U LEIK TACOOOOOS!!!' Shoulder-GIR piped up cutely.

"Well…" he let the expletive go, not finishing the sentence. "Guess we'll have to learn as well!" The lizard threw another attack and this time Dib jumped over the attack and roundhouse kicked the monster to the face. "TAKE THAT!!!" he shouted quietly to himself as the monster's HP dropped rather significantly, "OWNAGE!!!"

'Now's not the time to gloat you big-headed freak…' Shoulder-Gaz remarked dryly as the lizard got up, looking rather pissed.

"My head's not big!" he hissed. Then he looked back at the monster who was taking a slash-and-stab tactic. Dib ducked under the slash and rushed in, barely missing the stab as he delivered a swift uppercut to the creature's face, dropping its HP again. Now it was at one quarter health.

'YAAAAY BIG-HEADED BOYEH!!!!!' Shoulder-GIR yelled from atop Dib's scythe.

He smiled to himself, "Adapting, eh?" he rushed in for the finisher blow and KOed the thing with a flurry of punches to the lizard's snout. He picked up the Card (Joker again…surprise, surprise…) and smiled as the EXP healed his Reflection. "Well…that was fun…I can kinda see why Gaz always plays videoames now…" His eyelids grew heavy, "They're…so…fun…" he closed his eyes and rested his head on they keyboard, his breathing leveling down to the deep even breaths of a sleeper. Dib had finally succumbed to the sleep that he had denied himself for two days.

While he slept, Gaz poked her head in his room, knowing that he was out like a light. She snuck forward and peered at the computer, her face pulling into a vengeful sneer as she read the PAUSE screen. "Looking-Glass…he WAS playing a game…and he hasn't told me about it!" her eyes glimmered in utter fury, "OH how he will pay…" she punched a few keys on his keyboard and smiled to herself. Her revenge was in motion…

-x-

The queen looked at her mirror smugly, "Looks like half of Wonderland is already mine…soon the House of Hearts will be mine and I will control the biggest House of the Deck!" she chuckled darkly to herself, "And as for the Free Pawn…there's no room in the coding for miracles…there's no way he could be the one that I was thinking of…never."

-x-

(A/N: sorry about the horrendous and short chapter. I have to wear my contacts (so when prom comes around I won't die of a headache) so on top of the fact that I'm tired, I have a headache. And thanks to ngrey651 for the 'Shoulder-GIR' idea. I wasn't going to put it in there but then I figured, 'what the fuzz…' and I did. Sleep deprived Dib makes me smile and adding GIR in the mix would make it even more fun…Now R&R or I will be forced to reveal the awful ZADR fanfic that Ms. Bitters forced the class to read (unless you really DO want to know and then I think I'll type it up to please the masses…)!!!! So sayeth 'Sandria - ruler of your amazing universe and second in power to the almighty Jhonen Vasquez!!!! Ta~)


	5. Bishop to A4

(A/N; much thanks to Alohilani for the AWESOME fanart!!!!! I looked at it and it made me smile…even the shoulder-Gaz and shoulder-GIR were like I imagined them. So, yes you may keep that up. :P And yet another spawn of the AMAZING mind of the AMAZING 'SANDRIA!!!!!! *Zim-like laugh and raising of the arms in a very Zim-like fashion*)

-x-

Dib groaned slightly, peeling his face off of his keyboard, the letters 'T', 'Y', 'U', 'G', 'H', 'B', and 'N' imprinted on his face. "Nng…wha-?' he looked at the monitor, drool dribbling from his lips and shrieked.

There, on the screen, were some very ominous words, dripping down the screen in a very blood-like fashion. 'DIB….' It read, 'YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION…'

'Ooh…you're gonna get it now…' Shoulder-Gaz remarked, leaning over his hair to get a good look at the message, 'She is ANGRY…'

"You don't think I don't know that?!" Dib was sweating in pure horror.

'Itadekenai~ itadekenai~' Shoulder-GIR (no he didn't go away) sung happily from the bridge of his glasses.

"What's that even supposed to mean?!" Dib logged off and closed the laptop, shrugging it underneath his arm. He slowly tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen. There, at the table eating a bowl of Frankenchokies was Gaz. "H-hey Gaz…"

"Mmf…" she mumbled, mouth full of disgusting, name-brand cereal.

"D-did you sleep well?..." 'Don't let her know you're afraid…she can smell fear…' he thought to himself after addressing his sister.

"Yeah…" simple and to the point, typical Gaz-talk.

"Yeah…s-so, heard of any new games yet? I mean, they're coming out with the new Vampire Piggy Hunter this week…"

"Yeah…I heard that…and I heard you were hiding a game from me….YOU WILL DIE FOR THAT!!!!!' Dib's imagination made that last bit up.

"R-really, cause I just found that out…w-wanna' pre-order it? I'll pay…'

'Oh great…she'll see through that for sure.' Shoulder-Gaz rolled her eyes and settled on Dib's spoon.

"Aren't you her? Shouldn't you know those things?!!!" Dib hissed, not noticing the looks his sibling was giving him.

'No…I'm just your brain's representation of her in the form of a more-tolerable L33T gamer.' Shoulder-Gaz folded her arms huffily.

"Then what's he?" Dib and Shoulder-Gaz looked at Shoulder-GIR who was trying to balance a stack of Frankenchokies on his nose while singing the Doom song backwards and break-dancing.

'Indigestion?' Shoulder-Gaz raised one eyebrow and shrugged.

'i'ma lima beans in yur noggin dancing the tango while gargling Vaseline covered in mashed po-tay-towes!' Shoulder-GIR sang happily, his stack of Frankenchokies falling into his open mouth.

Dib and Shoulder-Gaz just rolled their eyes. "So…" Dib continued with Gaz (the real one) momentarily forgetting his terror. "Skool's closed?"

"Mmhmm…" she didn't look up from her Game Slave, "Some kid burned it down…imagine that?" She shot a smug look at the blowtorch and empty can of gasoline in the corner. "So they'll be closed for a bit…what were you doing up so late? I KNOW you weren't stalking Zim, I could hear you screaming things like 'Even though I OWND Iggins, a level fifteen NPC is…RAWRGH!!!' and 'OWNAGE!!!' all night long…" 'I know…' her eyes said and Dib KNEW she knew.

"Dreams."

"About?" her smile, her smile hinted at things only seen in the darkest depths of Hell.

"Games, all those games you play. I dreamt I was in your games, that I was the Hunter and there were other players. Iggins was a name I made up, is it familiar?" the lie slipped past his tongue so smoothly that he almost believed it. Beside him Shoulder-Gaz just shook her head sadly.

'Lying's only gonna sink you further…'

"Shut up…" Dib hissed. "I'm off to go and spy on Zim, kay?"

Gaz just stared, her gaze unwavering, "Whatever, just don't make any noise…" then she grinned, "'Spying on Zim'? Is THAT what you call it nowadays?"

He grimaced, "GAZ! You're too young to know that!"

She just smiled and wiggled her fingers in farewell, "Have fun…" Dib ran upstairs and plugged his laptop in and Gaz turned on her Game Slave, "Have fun while you can…I will eventually own you and you WILL pay…"

-x-

Dib finished off his fifth lizard that day and snatched up the Card before it hit the ground, "I think I'm actually getting the hang of this…"

Shoulder-GIR smiled, his square tongue poking out, 'yew's level twenty now! yew lern fast!!! no lizard-men own yew now!!!'

For once he was right, Dib WAS doing well. "Yeah, well I STILL don't get the point of me collecting all the Cards!" He called his Guide and frowned as nothing happened, "Wait…what?"

'Odd…' Shoulder-Gaz leaned in front of the screen.

"Odd how?! Odd as in I CAN'T ACCESS MY GUIDE?!!!!" Dib near pulled his hair out as he constantly pressed the 'CALL' button combination.

'No…you know that Something you picked up when you PKed Iggins? Yeah, well it's glowing…' she pointed to the pouch Dib constantly wore around his waist.

Dib pulled the glowing Something out of his pocket and held it at arms' length as if it would explode. Then the Something glowed even brighter and there was a flash of light that actually BLINDED Dib. After his eyes dilated to adjust to the light he gasped in surprise, "No way…" In his hands was a small creature curled up tightly, its tail falling over its beak. "It's…it's a Gryphon!"

'A what? Sounds like some of your paranormal junk again…' Shoulder-Gaz, arms akimbo, cocked a hip and raised an eyebrow. 'What's so special about that?'

'HI BABY!!!!!' Shoulder-GIR shrieked.

"A Gryphon is a mythical creature that is the fusion of a lion and an eagle. It has a lion's hind end, and eagle's front end, wings, lion ears, and a tail. They're extremely lucky and can carry you where you want them to provided you have their respect…" He stared at the small tawny creature in his hands, "That's what the Something was, a Gryphon Egg! Where did Iggins get it?"

'Don't know and don't care…looks like your Guide is here…' And he was.

The small albino rushed up, sweating from head to toe, "I'm late…I'm sorry…"

Dib just rolled his eyes and clicked 'HELP' and then 'INQUIRY' typing in, "What is the purpose of the Gryphon?"

"Query illogical, there is no Gryphon in Wonderland…" his Guide stared at him quizzically, "Are you sure this is what you meant?"

"Odd….he didn't know about this…" Dib mused out loud. He typed again, "What are Creatures?"

His Guide's face lit up at the question, "Ah, Creatures are assistants of many sorts that align themselves with the Suits. Each Creature will aid you in battle according to your alliances in the Deck. The Creatures consist of: the Wyrm, the Cat, the Raven, the Bird, the Beast, and the infamous and rare Flowers. You must meet them and beat them in combat in order to summon them in battle." He paused and looked at Dib, "Is that all?"

Dib clicked 'EXIT' and a small hole appeared beneath the man's feet and he fell through it. "But his stats say 'Creature'…"

'Maybe it's a fluke…' Shoulder-Gaz remarked.

"Maybe…"

"HELP!!!!!" a voice cried out from the far side of A-4, "HELP ME!!!!"

"Who-? Who's that?!" Dib put the napping Gryphon in his hood and ran over and saw some of the lizards attacking a young girl in a robe. "HEY!!!" he caught the lizards' attention, "OY!!! Come and get some!" He then owned them and walked over to the girl, helping her up. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah…" she stood up and dusted herself off, "Thanks…I mean, for saving me?"

"No problem…I'm Dib, what's your name?" he smiled in her direction, ignoring the 'NO!!!' gesture Shoulder-Gaz was making over his shoulder.

"ME? My name's Anne…I'm the Ace of Hearts and I'm a White Rook…"

"New to the Game?"

"Yeah…I just clicked on the Map and found myself in an area where the monsters were too tough for me…" she smiled sheepishly, "I didn't think I was going to make it…"

"Ah, well…I've been here long enough to know these monsters forwards and backwards so…no prob."

"What's your Class, a Pawn? And your Suit?" she tilted her head and her soft brown hair fell out of her face exposing her purple eyes.

"Yeah, I'm a Pawn…and I haven't been given a Suit yet…" he smiled sheepishly, still ignoring the 'OH **** NO!!!!!' gesture Shoulder-Gaz was making and Shoulder-GIR doing the Caramelldanse.

"No Suit?"

"Naw…don't quite know why though…" he looked at her closely, wondering why she felt so familiar.

"Well…nice meeting you, I'm going back to B-3 to train a bit. See you later maybe?" she smiled and his world brightened a bit.

"Sure, bye Anne!" he waved as she pulled out her Map and disappeared.

'YOU STUPID-!!!!!' Shoulder-Gaz's fists swung in the air angrily as she glared at Dib, 'Do you have any idea who that was?!!!!'

"A Player like me?..."

'Rrgh…look, forget it…' she rubbed between her temples ands sighed, 'It's late anyways so go to sleep, don't want Gaz to kill you…'

"Right…" he saved and logged off, closing the computer and crawling under the covers, "'Night…" he yawned. Then he fell asleep, snoring softly.

In the room across the hall Gaz grinned evilly, "Oh how he will pay…"

-x-

The rabbit bowed deep, "Madam…another has arrived…"

"And their alliance?"

"Hearts, a Bishop madam."

"Good…then all the pieces are in play I presume?"

"Of course…"

"Then proceed with the plan…"

"Yes madam…"

-x-

The queen stared into her Mirror, "The Gryphon?! There IS no Gryphon!!! The Game is falling apart! He should not be here!" She turned to her general and gave him an order, "Mobilize all troops; I want them all near the White side by three sunups." He saluted and scurried off as her gaze fell back on her Mirror. "That's impossible…impossible…"

-x-

(A/N: And for your information (as sui_nya so kindly pointed out to me in her confusion) I must clarify: the queen and the woman associating with the Rabbit are NOT the same. Also, the daily review threat…review of the Gryphon will sit on your face and nap, SUFFOCATING YOU!!!! *more Zim-like laughter*. And I apologize in advance for the weirdness of these chapters, I'm writing it as I go. Much lurve to all my homies ~'Sandria)


	6. Pawn to A4 intermission

A/N: I have to admit to a mistake…when in the last chapter I introduced Anne she said she was a Rook of Hearts but she was later labeled as a Bishop of Hearts by the Rabbit (and the chapter title is 'Bishop to A-4'). I want to clarify - she's a Bishop. My b…anywho! Here's the next fun installment of Looking-Glass!

-x-

The Rabbit twitched nervously as she stared at him, "A-are you sure you want to do that madam? I mean, the Players and all the Pieces may be unable to deal with it so soon…"

"Silence. The Queen is moving…she KNOWS something is up and I CANNOT lose to her. You know what will happen if I do…" he shivered again under the cold, calm glare of her eyes. "This is no longer an order, this is an override command: Tell the Creatures to go and find their Hosts."

The Rabbit's eyes widened but he bowed nonetheless, "Y-yes madam…" As he hopped away, he sighed and commented under his breath, "But even IF the Pieces are all here, there is no need to go and do THAT…they'll wreak havoc on Wonderland!" He shook his head and proceeded down the hallway to complete his mission.

-x-

The Queen shrieked as she paced her room nervously, "This place was made to attract the brightest human minds but HE was not supposed to be here! His Belief, it's interfering with the Process! How will I face failure now?!!! She will win! I must devour the rest of Wonderland! I must…" and she left her room, the Mirror reflecting only darkness but for a single pinprick of light that glinted in the silver frame like a star.

-x-

Dib sat with his back against a Tumtum tree, his HP slowly going up. "I never thought trying to get this thing to hunt would be THAT much of a pain…"

'Well it isn't coordinated and it's a baby, and it's STUPID…' Shoulder-Gaz sighed, 'Wonder what made it this hard?'

Dib just shot her a look, "Quiet…no one asked you…"

'YOU did'

"Never mind…" he stood back up as the tree withered, having done its job. "Let's try this again…" he gestured and the Gryphon bounded up to him, tail a-wagging. "See that?" he pointed at one of the lizards, "Go get it…"

The small animal loped off, gathering momentum until it was a few feet away from the monster. Then it leapt in the air—

—and promptly face-planted, skidding to a rest only a few feet in front of the confused reptile. Dib dashed forward and kicked the lizard in the jaw and then punched it in the soft spot on its skull, killing it instantly. He looked at the Gryphon and asked, "Are you okay?" It mewled sadly. Dib picked up the Card at his Reflection's feet and flicked it lightly, letting the breeze catch it and carry it away, "Go get it." The Gryphon perked up and leapt after it, his feet still on the ground but his wings beating furiously.

'What are you doing?'

"Playing fetch with it…" Dib watched it as it leapt into the air after the Joker, missing by an inch. "I'm bored…" She said nothing and Shoulder-GIR was using his doggy-costume as a parachute to catch and ride the wind while Dib sat and watched the Gryphon finally catch the Card, its beak tearing through the paper. A glow enveloped it and it grew in size, its wings becoming more detailed and more prominent and its features sharpening out to a more mature look. Dib and Shoulder-Gaz gasped in awe. "The Cards…"

'They act as a stat-booster!' Shoulder-Gaz floated over to the Gryphon and circled it with a 'Kid-in-a-candy-Shoppe' look on her face. 'Check and make sure…'

He clicked on the Gryphon's stats and gasped in amazement, "His stats ARE different! And his EXP went up enough for him to level up almost!" He called his Guide, who looked rather sleepy, and went through the 'INQUIRY' process, typing in "Can the Cards be used as stat modifiers?"

The albino looked pleased, "Yes. They can be used for trading as well but only inside your Suit. If you have armor or weapons the Cards can level them up too so you don't have to waste your time bartering from better goods or suffering for your lack of defense or attack. Nice to see you're using your head now…was getting sick of all those 'What is this' and 'What does that do' questions…even though I'm programmed to have all the answers to everything in the Game, doesn't mean I have endless patience. Toodles!" Then he hopped off, the gilded pocket-watch in hand.

Dib and Shoulder-Gaz just stared, jaws slack. 'he's funny for a person-game-man! he knows stuff!!!!' Shoulder-GIR chirruped cheerily.

'I don't know if it's good programming or insanity but did your Guide just self-acknowledge that he was a computer program in an MMO?...' Shoulder-Gaz just stared as Dib turned around and squatted, absentmindedly petting the Gryphon.

"So there's only two more fields before I hit the House of Spades where the Suit of Spades' Face Cards reside…then there are only four more Fields before I reach the Black Queen's citadel. That should have something interesting in it for me because according to the rules of chess, a pawn that makes it across the board gets to emulate any piece in the game aside from a king." He glanced at Shoulder-Gaz, "What do you think?"

'I think you should level up before you go anywhere. Even as high as you are you still have a horrid disadvantage because of your Class so you need to up your attack. Your defense can be upped by using the Cards on your tunic but your attack will go nowhere.'

"What do you suggest I do then? Killing lizards will get me nowhere fast and the Cards will not help."

'The Boss of the Field.' Shoulder-Gaz remarked matter-of-factly.

"Boss?"

'Yeah. Just because you can leave the Field when you want doesn't mean you conquered it. Every game has one of two types of levels: mission-based or boss-based. Seeing as you've been able to come and go as you please (within your Class limit) it is to assume that this Game's Fields are Boss-based levels. Therefore you just have to find the boss.' She folded her arms in smug satisfaction.

"And how, do you propose I do that?"

'issa lizurd…' Shoulder-GIR said suddenly. 'there'z a giant lizurd-man-thingy that's out there.' He pointed out to a cave in the distance.

"How do you know this?" Dib asked, stunned by the display of real intelligence.

'the piggeh tolded meh!' Dib lost all faith in the hallucination.

Regardless of the stupidity of this choice Dib continued on towards the cave while dodging the lizards that seemed to get antsier the closer he got to the cave. Then it hit him, he had been dodging the lizards the entire way to avoid confrontation and the use of his second Tumtum tree when all he had to do was this! He sat down and pulled out a small grass and a flint set. He lit the grass on fire and began to smoke it.

'Drugs are bad for you…' Shoulder-Gaz said as she watched him hack up a lung in a smoke-induced coughing fit.

"I'm-*cough*-I'm fine…I just-*cough cough*-need to finish this-*hack cough*-one and I'll be good…" he wheezed out and then exhaled, the smoke forming small snakes that formed a bigger one when they joined together.

_What do you wish for?..._ they hissed.

"In-*cough hack*-invisible protection…" Dib choked out, "Make us invisible and-*cough*-keep us safe till we reach the cave."

_As you wish…_ The snake thinned out and covered the tall teen's Reflection and the Gryphon in a veil of smoke. As they moved forward they realized they weren't noticed.

'What was that?' Shoulder-Gaz asked, upset she didn't know already.

"Wraith-grass…it does whatever you wish within reason…" Dib whispered as they passed a large hoard of lizard men. "Got a bit of it from that grove a ways off, next to the thorny vine that covers eighty percent of this field." They walked farther in to the field and reached a large cave where the smoky veil dissipated, leaving Dib's Reflection out in the open. He hurriedly dashed into the cave and came face-to-face with a HUGE lizard wearing a crown and backed by a hoard of other lizards that were all seething with fury. "Oh nuts…"

"Thissssss huuuuman hassss defiled ouuuuur ssssssanctuuuuuary." It hissed, surprising Dib.

"Wait - you can talk?!" he asked, confused.

"I can. My minionssssss cannot." It hissed.

"Are you the boss?" Dib asked.

"I am the drakovitch king." It sighed, "I control all the drakovitch in thisssss field."

'Take that as a yes.' Shoulder-Gaz noted.

Dib eyed a large treasure chest behind the drakovitch king hungrily and he noticed. "Youuuu want thissss? Youuuu'll have to fight for thissssss chessssst. Youuuuu have killed many of my people and therefore mussssst pay."

"Well what do I have to do?"

"Youuuuuu have to particccccipate in the thouuuuuussssssand touuuuurnament." It gestured to the large coliseum dome behind them and grinned, its maw filled with large pointy teeth. "Then youuuuu can have thisssss chesssst…if youuuu ssssuuuuurvive that isssssss."

"What's that?" Dib asked as the Gryphon noticed the drakovitch and began to growl lowly.

"Youuuuu muuuussssst defeat drakovitch in ssssetsssssss, ssssstarting with one and moving up to one thouuuuusssssand at onccccce." He grinned again as his tongue darted up to flick at his lidless eyeballs, "There are no ruuuuulesssss other than kill or be killed. There isssss no pauuuuussssse between grouuuuupsssss sssso youuuuu have to adjuuuusssst quuuuickly."

"I accept." Dib stated and Shoulder-GIR and Shoulder-Gaz floated away from him as if he had the plague. "Let's go."

"I'm not done exxxxxxxplaining yet. Then, after the one thouuuuusssssand, youuuu have to faccce me." Dib grimaced and the drakovitch king smacked his lips hungrily, "Youuuu will make a very niccccce presssssent to my wivessssss."

'Way to go genius…' Shoulder-Gaz remarked. 'With your current stats you can only take out nine hundred of them at once without having some issues. You know their weakness but the Boss will be much harder than that and a one-hit KO will be unlikely. I suggest you take the Gryphon with you.'

Dib nodded curtly and pulled out some of his Cards as he modified his tunic and the Gryphon as he walked his way to the coliseum. When he reached the coliseum he stepped in and the gate shut behind him. A loud voice echoed around the cave, speaking in a strange hissing noise which dib took to be the drakovitch language. "Hssssk, kshhh n'kassss sssssssvirik. Kiiiii, risssssssan ssssssshisssssslaaaaaansssss." Then the first drakovitch entered and Dib's fight began.

Like Shoulder-Gaz said, alone he could take up to nine hundred before he finally buckled down and called the Gryphon over to help him, knowing their weakness allowing him to survive longer than humanly possible yet eventually being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Then it was the two of them; a flurry of feet, fists, feathers, and fur flying every which-way as they fought off their reptilian foes, under the scrutinizing stare of the drakovitch king. Then they finally reached one thousand and Dib finished off the final one with a flying kick to the soft-spot in their skulls. He panted heavily as he stared at the king expectantly, the crowd of drakovitch all around him hissing in displeasure of his winning. The large lizard-like drakovitch king jumped down to face Dib, his weight causing the floor to shake.

"Now it issss my tuuuurn…" he hissed evilly, swatting the Gryphon away with one swing. Dib gasped as the small Creature collapsed on the floor in pain. "Now it issss youuuuur tuuuurn to be in pain, juuuusssst like my bretheren." He raised a large claw and lunged at Dib, surprising agile for his size and body mass.

Dib ducked and weaved through his large punches, aiming for the soft spot all of the drakovitch had above their eyes. When he landed a hit he winced as his health went down and the drakovitch king's didn't. "What was that?!" he shrieked as he dodged another barrage of attacks.

'He isn't like the others you idiot!!!!' Shoulder-Gaz hollered.

"Great…" Dib ducked and weaved and attempted every move he knew and some he made up on the spot, only succeeding in pulling his health down to critical levels. When he finally gave up he pulled out his flint and a thing of Wraith-grass, lighting the entire bundle and smoking it as fast as he could while running away from the angry king. When the Wraiths that inhabited the grass asked him what he wanted he wheezed out "Protection for me and the Gryphon from anything for a short amount of time." They nodded and surrounded him. "Eat this…" he hacked as he pulled out a small seed and tossed it at the king then ducked for cover. When the seed hit the drakovitch king it exploded into a stream of thorns, pushing through the king's body to root into the ground, its tendrils reaching out and catching every living thing there except for Dib and the Gryphon, impaling them. When the smoke finally cleared the thorny branches had stopped growing and all that was left there were the frozen figures of the millions of lizard-men that had been snared in the attack, their bodies flickering with some sort of glow as if a fire was lit inside of them and was eating them inside out.

Shoulder-Gaz just stared as Dib picked up the Gryphon (now considerably larger and heavier) and walked over to the treasure chest. 'What was that?!!! You shouldn't be able to do that! You're cheating!' she fumed.

"No" he calmly said as he checked the chest for traps, "Someone else cheated, not me. I just monopolized on that cheat." He opened it and pulled out a sweet-looking pair of gauntlets, donning them and smiling as they flexed to fit his hands. "Back some ways (as I found out after some digging in the game-code) there was a hacker who thought it would be neat to create a piece of code that would allow him to kill anything with one hit, with just a touch and so the Thorns were created. When he used it, however, it didn't just kill his enemy; it devoured him and every other living thing for a huge radius and then ceased growing, feeding off of their code. He had created a virus and destroyed his Reflection in the process. The Thorns create some seeds and so I grabbed a few along with some Wraith-grass thinking they'd be useful. They were." He used a few Cards on his new gauntlets and grinned at his new weapon and Attack stat.

'And you don't consider that cheating?' she asked angrily.

"Nope." He said nonchalantly, pulling out the Tumtum tree and resting his and the Gryphon's forms beneath it. "Funny you of all people should be so upset by a little luck."

'I don't like hackers….GAZ doesn't like hackers. Hackers cheat and don't play the game as it was meant to be…' she was seething and Dib got nervous, Shoulder-Gaz or not.

"Look, they only grow in this area and I only grabbed a few for fear that it would spear me." He placated her, "I need to go to the next field and so I need to get out of here. Won't use these unless I NEED to." He promised and she relaxed. Dib, fully healed, pulled out the map and moved to A-5 and then saved, getting off yawning. "Dang…" he yawned, looking at the clock, "That game seems like full immersion some times…I even hacked and coughed when I used the Wraith-grass. Need to sleep." He sighed and rolled over in his bed, falling quickly to sleep.

-x-

To be Continued…

(A/N: I thought I should explain the reason he was so into the Game so I added that last paragraph. We're moving into the next arc, the real part of the storyline!!!! Yay! Anyways, still looking for a beta for a story I'm writing for the Jhonen Vasquez fandom so…PM me, yes? Oh, and R&R or Dib will use the Thorns near you. *'Sandria smiles evilly and waves goodbye to all the people who could be spending their time outside while it's nice* Laters!)


	7. Pawn to A5

(A/N: So…as promised…the next chapter of Looking-Glass with even more plot in it than before!)

-x-

Dib woke up and went to his computer seeing as the Skool was still rebuilding after the mysterious arson. He logged on to Looking-Glass and looked around at this new level. It was very similar to the first Field he had been on, the happy look of it a relief after the darkness and gloom of A-4. There were actual trees and he smiled as he saw sunshine. The area was inhabited by large wolf-human hybrids that carried swords like Iggins. He smiled at their stats, just high enough to worry him but not quite high enough to kill him in one hit and with his new gauntlets he had a boosted attack stat so he was pretty sure of himself. The Gryphon growled deeply as it glared at the werewolves. Dib patted its head, "Ssh, I know...let's get one of them alone before we make any rash decisions, kay?"

Shoulder-Gaz made a Face, 'They look pretty difficult for your level...are you sure you can handle them?' Dib stopped and grinned up at the small, floating rendition of his sister with a sly smile on his face. She looked at him oddly, 'What?'

"You DO care!" he smiled slyly and Shoulder-GIR giggled and squeaked mini-moose excitedly.

'N-no I don't!' she protested.

"You DO otherwise you wouldn't have said anything!"

'Why would I even care? You don't seem to need me anyways, I've served my purpose I helped you and now you seem to know more about this Game than I do!' she responded angrily, almost indignantly.

Dib took in a deep breath, "I DO need you (though I hate to admit it...) I'm still not 1337 enough to survive in this dog-eat-Reflection world. This is YOUR area of expertise, not mine! I can't do it without you..." Dib choked back the bile that was threatening to rise in this throat as he said the words he had harbored in his mind for so long, "I NEED YOUR HELP...I WILL FAIL WITHOUT YOU..." His words were growled through strained teeth and he finished, the smug look on Shoulder-Gaz's face making him truly want to vomit.

'True...' she purred, catlike, 'You are still a low-grade n00b and without my amazing guidance you would flounder and fail...' she sounded, in her smug rant, exactly like Zim when he was on one of his 'I am amazing because I am Zim' tangents.

"Yes.." Dib was appealing to her better nature, partially because he KNEW that without her he was screwed three ways to Sunday. He stared at a straggling werewolf and smiled at the Gryphon, "Let's go" he whispered to it and both of them bounded off to try their hand at these new enemies.

-x-

Anne smiled as she fired of an all-consuming flame that ate away at the lizards that surrounded her, "Eat this!" She picked up the Cards and smiled again, her teeth glittering eerily in the dark light. "That makes a full Deck and means I can challenge the King...or Queen..." The Heart on her robe stood out in the low light, "Do you think I could do it?" she asked a large figure off to her side.

The large Beast growled softly, "Of course...you were Chosen. You are one of the Pieces, you can do anything."

"You may be right...what say you we take the Castle of Hearts by storm?" she asked the Beast as she straddled it and pulled out her Map, highlighting the Castle of Hearts.

"Let us bring them to their knees."

-x-

The Queen's messenger returned, "Erhm...my Queen?"

The Queen looked at the messenger with anger fluctuating in her dark eyes, "What?"

"It seems as if the troops have hit a slight kink in the plan..."

"WHAT?" she stood up from her Mirror and grabbed the small messenger by the throat, lifting him high above the floor. "What happened?"

"Th-they ran into a party of Spades and Clubs who were waiting for them...they seemed to know that they were coming..." he gasped out as she released him.

"Then mobilize more forces, my Mirror must feast and therefore no Players should be on the Fields I wish to devour."

"A-also...there seems to be a slight issue..."

"What now?" The Queen looked as if she was going to implode horribly.

"He-they let the Creatures go...the Pieces are in play..." he flinched as he was thrown headfirst into the Mirror with a shriek.

"NO! If they're mobilizing the Pieces then it's Endgame!" The Queen pulled at her hair in anger, gnashing her teeth, "Then I have to get in the Game, I have to make this all worth it...it's worth everything in the world if I win." She donned her cloak and walked out of the room, leaving the Mirror to feed as it pleased, this came first...the Pieces must die.

-x-

Dib smiled as he and the Gryphon rested beneath a naturally occurring Tumtum tree, "That was fun..." The Gryphon nodded in agreement, the last Card boosting his intelligence to the point of near speech.

'So you got your butt whupped in the first couple of minutes, why are you so happy?' Shoulder-Gaz asked snidely.

"Because we beat it! We beat a werewolf!" Dib sighed, his many cuts and bruises healing rapidly.

'monkeh!' Shoulder-GIR squealed.

"Exactly..." Dib sighed in agreement, "For once you make make sense."

'We need to move on, grow faster so you can get to the Castle of Spades! You need to get to the Black Queen's Citadel before Gaz finally exacts her revenge!' Shoulder-Gaz hurried on the lazy trio with furor.

"Be chill my sister..." Dib said, "Be chill..."

'Be CHILL?' Shoulder-Gaz began to fume in pure, unadulterated anger. 'I may not be your sister but I am JUST as scary...you will NEVER tell me to CHILL again!'

Dib shrunk from her and held his hands up apologetically, "Sorry...i forgot who I was talking to..." he stood up and rubbed between the Gryphon's shoulder-blades, "C'mon...let's go get some more of those werewolves." he walked off and Shoulder-Gaz just shook her head slowly.

'Fools...they have no idea what kind of trouble they're getting in to...'

-x-

To Be Continued...

(A/N: Okay..I kind of lied in the sense that there's not too much going on in this chapter...I have some nasty twists planned for the future though. You all should check out my Deviantart account! (invadernere) I gots a fancomic! So...R&R or Anne will sic the Beast on you... *'Sandria salutes smartly in farewell*)


	8. Pawn to ZInfinity

(A/N: No people, I have NOT abandoned you, my muse just went elsewhere. Namely How to Train Your Dragon and my novel Quoth the Raven. But here I am and I am trying once again. Not sure how good this'll be since what I wanted this to be has completely escaped my mind. If you might have an idea, please tell me.)

-x-

Wolves swarmed Dib and the Gryphon from every side. In a blur of feathers and fists three fell. But as soon as three fell, four more took their place.

"Crap! This is like the fricking Hydra!" Dib hissed as he parried a blow from a white werewolf and turned to kick another in the face, dropping its HP drastically. The Gryphon mewled in agreement.

'Don't say I didn't warn you.' Shoulder-Gaz commented dryly, 'Cause I did.'

'awwwwww, gazzy. now's not the time for 'told ya so's.' Shoulder-GIR giggled and hugged the apparition of the small girl. 'now's the time to DANCE LIKE A MONKEH!'

Dib sighed, "You two aren't much help are they?" The Gryphon snorted in agreement.

"Well how about me?" a voice called from nowhere and then a large axe fell on three of the Werewolves, KOing them instantly.

Dib looked up to be face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired Rook of Spades. "Thanks. But—why are you helping me? The Castle of Spades is in my way to the Black Queen's citadel and I'm gonna power up there."

"Orders from higher up. Well, that and I wanted to rescue you and show you to a clear field for my own selfish reasons." the Rook pulled out a white glove and dropped it on the ground. Dib stared at it with an odd expression.

"Wha-?" he bent over to pick it up.

'No – don't!' Shoulder-Gaz shouted.

'IT'S A TRAP!' Shoulder-GIR shouted even louder.

Too late. Dib picked up the glove and in a flash he was transported to a wide field with nothing in it except him and the Rook. He looked around him and blinked stupidly, "What? Where am I?"

"I issued a challenge and you accepted it. We're in a Battle-field." The Rook stated.

"Wh-where's the Gryphon?"

"That lion-bird-thingy you had with you?" the Rook shrugged, "I dunno...prob'ly back at A-5."

'Crap! You need to get back soon or the Gryphon is toast...' Shoulder-Gaz warned, 'Finish him quickly.'

"What are the rules of the challenge?" Dib asked the Rook.

"Free-for-all battle. One winner. The loser starts from scratch." The Rook swung his arms around and grinned wickedly, "And I intend to win."

"You're on!" Dib pulled his gauntlets on and lifted his fists to a fighting stance. The battle had begun.

Dib swung and connected but the Rook hardly flinched. Then he swung again and this time the Rook dodged and swung the handle of the axe up to hit his chin. It connected and sengt Dib spinning back, his HP dropping significantly.

'You should've checked his stats first.' Shoulder-Gaz said plainly.

Checking his stats Dib swore, the Rook was at least five levels higher than him and wasn't a pushover like Iggins was. More blows were exchanged and even more HP was lost by Dib but he wasn't even putting a dent in the Rook's HP, despite the type disadvantage. Dib reared back for a quick combo just as the Rook lunged forward wit the axe, blade rushing down to meet him. He tried to dodge but it was too late, he had lost.

The words "GAME OVER" flashed on the screen and Dib—in the real world—swore in frustration. "NO!" he shouted and banged the keyboard, "NO! I was so close!"

Then the words "RESTART?" appeared and Dib's heart lifted a bit, he could continue? Well he'd be starting from scratch but at least he'd be enjoying the game some more. He leaned forward and clicked the button, happy to once again see his Guide.

-x-

To Be Continued...

(A/N: SURPRISE! I Bet you weren't expecting THAT were you? I bet you though Dib was gonna pull through like he always does. But he didn't. Why you ask? 'Cause I'm evil. :) And you can't do nuthin bout it. But I know you love me so it's all cool. And there's a reason for Dib starting over. Trust me. I'm sure you'll love the next chapter once I'm done with it. Well...start writing it more like. R&R or the Rook will continually annihilate Dib over and over again while you watch.


	9. Pawn to C3

(A/N: here I am again. I'm sorry it took me so long to put this out I lost my inspiration and all ideas I had for this fic and then suddenly I got them back but in a different form! So if there are some things you didn't see coming, blame loss of short-term fic memory. And again, my sincerest apologies for making you wait so long.)

-x-

Dib watched the intro again and then was offered the Classes. He chose, once again, the Pawn Class and then was offered the same choice he was given to begin with when it came to the look of his character: Sleeper or Reflection. Dib pondered this choice more than he had when he first began the Game.

'Gaz already knows I was playing a game so I have no time constraints. And I've already been through once as a Reflection and Nostradamus knows that if I go through there like that again I'm sure to get harassed even more. But what would I make my Sleeper look like?' Unbidden, his mouse hovered over Sleeper and he clicked the option. A new screen appeared and his Guide smiled.

"Hello again. Choosing a Sleeper this time? Are you afraid that you'll be harassed by the Deck of Spades as you were previously?" Dib didn't even flinch at the fact that the Guide was actually talking TO him, he had long since gotten used to odd things happening such as the Immersion Effect (as he had taken to calling the odd sensation that he was actually IN the Game) and the fact that his Guide seemed to have acknowledged that it was a player in a larger game. "Ah, well…so - would you like to be told how this works or would you like to ignore me once again?"

'Eesh he's temperamental…' Dib flinched and clicked 'YES' on the 'Do you want help?' box. When he did, his Guide smiled.

"Ah - looks like someone is learning that maybe he can't do it all on his own, eh?" his Guide sneered, "Maybe he won't talk to himself, eh? Eh?" When Dib just stared his Guide shook his head, ears flapping against his face, and continued in a slightly nicer tone, "Look, a Sleeper is just that, something deep inside your imagination that's sleeping. We bring it to life. All you have to do is write the description in the 'DESCRIPTION' box and we will generate your very own Sleeper. You get it?" Dib nodded. "Good. Now hop to it!"

Dib stared at the 'DESCRIPTION' box for a good five minutes before he finally began to type.

"Tall, thin" he backspaced and began typing over the word 'thin', "BONY man. He has dark blue hair, almost black, that hangs in his face. The hairstyle is shaved in the back and sides leaving only a mop of hair on the top of his head. He wears a long-sleeved, striped, homemade T-shirt with a patch on the front that reads 'If you can read this, you aren't dead. Good for you :)' and a patch on the back that reads 'Congratulations; You get to live to see another day'. He's wearing black pants that hug his thin frame and tall, knee-high boots with silver buckles up the front and metal tipping them. He likes knives." Then Dib sat back and looked at what he wrote.

'Kinda' morbid, don'tcha' think?' he asked himself in lieu of Shoulder-Gaz and Shoulder-GIR. Then he shrugged, 'Ah well…'

In the 'NAME' box he typed in three simple letters alluding to the boots his Sleeper would wear. "Nny" Then he pressed 'GENERATE SLEEPER'.

The hourglass appeared again and transferred its golden grains from compartment to compartment. Then it loaded a 3-D figure. Dib's Sleeper.

It was just as he had described him, as he had IMAGINED him. It was amazing.

Dib's Guide smirked, "Impressive, eh?" He didn't know what was up with his Guide and the phrase '…eh?' "Yeah, I'm assuming that this is what you wanted. If not, you can always start over or hit the 'TRY AGAIN' button. So…is this good?"

Without thinking, Dib nodded and said—actually SAID out LOUD—"Yeah, this is good."

His Guide smiled again, "Good. I'm glad your Sleeper is to your liking. This way you can work with the Game much easier and way better."

"You know, you're a bit of a downer. I can do this on my own you know." Dib replied out loud.

His Guide shrugged, "Have it your way." Then the game started up again from the beginning, his Guide disappearing in a flash of purple smoke. Dib shook his head and sighed, 'What is it with this game and odd-colored smoke?' Then the realization of what had just happened hit him. 'Wait a second! I was talking out loud and my Guide responded to my vocal response in a vocal response! What is going on?' Then he realized he had a mic on his computer and it was functioning properly. "Oh...duh..." He facepalmed and then turned to face the computer and looked at where he was.

He was on a White space. This one was a level-one-to-fifteen space and had hundreds of randomly assembled monsters roaming the oddly desolate landscape. Oddly enough, every last one of the monsters had a piece of machinery stuck on their body somewhere. Dib opened his map and looked at his 'You are Here' icon. "C-three..." he muttered angrily, "That means I'm two columns and two Fields away from A-five. I'll have to challenge the bosses on each Fields B-four and A-five. TCHAAA!" He hissed in frustration and almost threw his map across the field until he realized he only had one map and no way to replace it except looting a dead player and there weren't too many of those just lying around. So, instead of chucking it in a fit of jejune rage he held on to it and sighed, "Blast and damnation..."

'Well what do you expect when it comes to things like this? Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy? As if!' That voice...it was Shoulder-Gaz! She looked at Dib and smirked, 'Miss me?'

"You have no idea...," Dib breathed. This caused Shoulder-Gaz to blush and look away, mumbling something under her breath. Dib grinned and sang out, "What was that?"

'I said "imissedyoutoo"...' Shoulder-Gaz mumbled the last bit again. Dib cupped his ear and Shoulder-Gaz turned a furious shade of crimson; however, she repeated her statement at a loud shout, 'I SAID "I MISSED YOU TOO"!' Then she turned away and flushed red again, 'Idiot...'

'dawwwwwww...Gazzy says she lurves the Dibbeh-monster! iz so cute...' Shoulder-GIR commented with an insane grin.

"Him...him I could've done without...," Dib muttered, a slight grin on his face nonetheless. Contradictory to what he had said, he needed the little insane robot in his head to keep him sane as well as relaxed—apparently insanity relaxes you, provided it isn't your insanity.

'Well here we are, want us or not,' Shoulder-Gaz remarked, 'Now...'

"Hey, is the Gryphon still trapped on A-five?" Dib asked suddenly.

'As far as I know.'

'i finks so...'

Dib groaned and buried his head in his hands, "Tcha...this suuuuucks..."

'Stop being such a whiner and grow a pair!' Shoulder-Gaz hissed, startling Dib out of his slight fit. 'All you have to do is find someone to challenge on B-four after you level up. And it looks like these Black Fields are chock-full of different level monsters. I see levels one, five, ten, and fifteen monsters just in this part of the Field. Who knows what other variations are around here. And if you beat the boss monster then you can move on after receiving a sweet piece of equipment. You get it?'

"Yeah...I see what you're getting at." Dib's grin widened, "And I think I know how long it's gonna take." Then he waltzed off to fight the monsters.

-x-

Anne smiled as she glared at the fallen form of the Queen of Hearts who was crying out, "I give in! Please don't kill me!"

"Weak...," Anne spat, "filthy, weak, disgusting loser. Should we spare her?" She had turned to the Beast who grinned and laughed maliciously.

"Kill it. It is not worth your time because you are one of the Pieces and it is one of the many. The many are only stepping stone to greatness, to beating the Queen and winning the Game." It turned yellow eyes towards Anne and then stared at the Queen of Hearts. "Filth should be purged from the system. Finish it."

Anne summoned a giant spear of ice and plunged it into the screaming Queen of Hearts. When her PC disappeared, Anne stooped down and picked up the crown and placed it upon her head. "I am now the Queen of Hearts!" she announced to the House of Hearts, "Any who challenge me shall receive my wrath! Now," she turned to face the Knave of Hearts, a small PC with white hair and pink eyes, "Who and where is the King?"

"The King's name is Zim, milady, and at the moment he is out at the moment, chasing after some hunch he had about the location of someone important to him." The Knave replied with certainty, blinking his pink eyes and nodding swiftly.

"What is your name Knave? And don't assume I care, I just would like to know so I can punish you if something fails around here." Anne looked down her nose at the PC and sneered.

"Paulo Bi-terra...milady...," the Knave stammered out. He was afraid of this woman, and not just because of the Beast pacing around her.

"Paulo...lame name...," Anne snorted, "Whatever..." Then she looked at the Beast and yawned, "Time to log off. I'm tired of this...it's too cliché." And she disappeared without a trace, the Beast along with her.

-x-

The Wyrm paced back and forth, his long legs stretching as he twisted up and around a tall tree, **When are we going to get revenge?**

"Soon...I just have to make sure he doesn't get any stronger."

**And then? He stole from you. You were to be a Piece of epic proportions. What will you do in response to that?** It hissed, vibrant purple eyes glowing.** And to top it off, the Knave of Spades, the one that replaced you, defeated him. He would have to restart on another unit. How will you know it's him?**

"The Knave that defeated him used a white Gauntlet to summon him to a Battle-space. He restarted from the same unit. And the one defining feature about him is that he is a Free player. That means no House-alignment, no symbol on his clothing. That makes him easy to spot."

**Hmmm...,** the Wyrm paused, one claw tapping its bearded chin in thought.** I see...you were the right Piece for me. I chose well...**

"Chose? You're just a program, a string of ones and zeros. Nothing more, nothing less. My being a Piece was predestined. Not your choice. You have no free will. Nothing is ever your choice."

**If you insist...,** the Wyrm chuckled and unwound from around the tree. **So...do you plan to take out the King of Spades and assume your rightful place in the House?**

"Does the Vampire Piggy Hunter defeat Pigthulu in the Japanese version of the third game?"

…**yes then?**

"Yes; yes he did and yes I will."

**Okay then. Make more sense next time. **The Wyrm huffed and flew above its Piece's head, **Shall I take you there?**

"Yes." Then the Wyrm lifted its Piece up and flew to the House of Spades where its Piece was to ascend to the highest position of the House of Spades, the King.

-x-

The Rabbit ducked a bow and began, "A Piece has been found. She ascended to Queen of the House of Hearts."

"What Creature?"

"The Beast madam. She has good control over it and yet she does not use it to her advantage. She defeated the previous Queen without uttering a single command."

"And have you been watching the free pawn like I commanded you to?"

"Yes madam, I have."

"Progress then? What has he been doing?"

The Rabbit paused, even with her lapse into the thinking of her host she was unstable in her current body (seeing as her current body's mind is unstable). And because she was unstable in her host body she often didn't take some news well. She had acquired some of her host's mannerisms and none of them were very...pleasant. Regardless of the possible bodily harm he continued with his report, "He has grown considerably in the mental aspects over the past few days but unfortunately he was challenged by the current Knave of Spades in a Battle-space and was defeated. However, it seems as though when he went into the Battle-space he left behind those two voices that he seems to carry around with him in A-five. However, he has them back despite the fact that he does not really need them. At the moment he is using his Sleeper, Nny, to level up and retrieve the Gryphon from A-five. He is at C-three fighting the monsters there."

There was a long pause as 'madam' processed the information given to her. The she howled with anger, "He was beaten? HE was BEATEN? This is impossible! He is a special one! THE special one! He is Dib! THE Dib! The Dib-stink! My Dib! Only mine to destroy! No one's but mine! No-"

"Madam!" The Rabbit interrupted her tangent with a concerned shout, "You're lapsing!"

"Ah...of course...sorry..."

"No worries. It's not your fault your host is broken."

"No, I should keep better control over my host mind."

"It's still not your fault. I know from experience that your host is unstable at best. Really I'm surprised that you haven't completely succumbed to the insanity."

"I think, as a gift to my host, I should try to repair it's synapses. Do you think that that is a suitable gift?"

"Yes, it will be pleased."

There was a long silence in which all that could be heard was the BGM of their special meeting-place. Then, out of the blue, the Rabbit shrieked.

"I almost forgot!" it exclaimed, "I know where the rest of the Pieces are madam!"

"Really? Where?"

"The King of Hearts has the Flowers, the King of Clubs has the Cat, the Knave of Clubs has the Raven, the Queen of Diamonds has the Bird, the Ace of Spades has the Wyrm, and—of course—our Free Pawn has the Gryphon, the non-existent Creature; the one that shouldn't be in the game in the first place." The Rabbit finished and smiled at 'madam' with a happy aura. "Their alignment is all White at the moment, for varying reasons, but some of them have Black thoughts for being White."

"We will have to purge that."

"Let Dib do that."

"What?" 'Madam' tilted her head and frowned.

"Dib. He, being the Free Piece of the Gryphon, has the power to change everything. All of this resides on his shoulders. He could make everything better, turn the tide. So let him weed out the players and Pieces. Let him filter the garbage from the water. Let him be the one to choose the final group."

"Ah...," 'madam' smiled, wide and toothy, "I see. I see indeed. We will let him choose. And then we will see how this plays out."

"Farewell madam!" The Rabbit bowed and backed away, warping back to the Field he was in beforehand.

"Farewell..."

(A/N: This took forever...I mean flipping forever...And I think I thoroughly confused you guys. I also might have a sequel in the works once I finish other stories. It all depends on how you guys think it should work. sequel or no? And I'm sorry if i gave too many things away. R&R or Anne will sic the Beast on you!)


	10. Bishop to C3

(A/N: Wow it's been a while...I must admit, writing this was a bit like pulling teeth. Painful, but a mean to an end. Thanks to all my reviewers, readers, stalkers, followers, betas, and Raxi, for sticking with me (I don't have any betas for this, but I thought I'd thank them anyway). Zim is a bit...effeminate in this but it was needed. Also, if the sign doesn't stick, Zim uses a heart in his sentences. Um, I find it worth mentioning—to those of you who didn't read 'Poor Little Heart'—that there is a blind poll on my profile for what stories I should work on. You have three votes and, when the poll closes on independence day, I will finish the top three and neglect anything else. Then I will poll again, all the whole writing whatever, and rinse and repeat until I have nothing left undone. Vote now! It is also worth mentioning that this chapter was written to Mumford & Sons' album 'Babel'. Can you see it? Thanks for sticking with me! —Sandria)

Bishop to C-3

Nny and Shoulder-GIR sat beneath his last Tumtum tree, regaining his HP and surveying the massive amount of damage he did to the monsters around him. The patchwork creatures lay torn in pieces and scattered about the Field, pixilating into nothing and leaving behind small stacks of Jokers. Nny sighed as he perused the Deck of Jokers and upgraded his meagre armour and knives. "This sucks."

'I would say the same but your levelling rate has exponentially increased since you first started,' Shoulder-Gaz's voice carried a small hint of pride in it that was almost missed by Nny, 'you've finally learned how to grind properly.'

"Yeah," Nny agreed wearily, "Glad the monsters of this Field are of varying levels. It would've been crappy if I had to face a bunch of high or low level monsters the entire time."

'quoth the raven, nevermore!'

Shoulder-Gaz and Nny didn't even bat an eye at Shoulder-GIR's non-sequiturs any more. They had grown so used to the odd little hallucination's rambling that, if Shoulder-GIR started making sense, they'd be worried. Nny looked at his dwindling Deck and sighed again, "At this rate, who knows where the Gryphon will be!"

'He'll be there for you, I promise.' Shoulder-Gaz leaned her back against Nny's head and rested there for a moment.

"And if he's not?"

'yew'll find him,' Shoulder-GIR chirruped. His eyes glowed a bright white for a second, and then they flickered back to their usual cyan, unnoticed.

With a resigned groan, Nny heaved himself up from underneath the tree and unsheathed his basic knives (with +20 attack thanks to his modifications with the Jokers), ready for attacking another wave of patchwork creatures. He hacked and slashed through the remaining stragglers, angrily tearing into any foes that stood in his way. 'I need to finish this! I need to get to the Gryphon! I need to save him!' Leaving behind only pixillated remains, he moved forward, never once looking back. His resolve was set.

-x-

The Gryphon hissed at the incoming stranger, beak bared and claws at the ready. This monster was not going to beat him! He had to wait for his Piece! His Piece promised him! His Piece would come get him, he promised!

The stranger was shaking, pale hair and skin glowing in the bright light of the moon. He held out his hands in a gesture of goodwill, smiling softly. "I'm not here to hurt you. Calm down, friend."

The Gryphon hissed again, advancing on the stranger to show he meant business. His tail was puffed out and his ruff was twice its size to warn him; don't come any nearer, or else.

"You want to find your Piece, don't you?" The stranger prompted, not backing down. The Gryphon's head tilted to the side in inquisition. What was this stranger saying? Of course he wanted to see his Piece again! He churred and the stranger grinned, "Then come with me. He'll be visiting us soon. I can show him to you if you come with me. You'll be safe." He prompted, stepping forward.

The Gryphon hesitated, light dawning in his amber eyes. This person would take him to his Piece? Well...he didn't seem bad, and he didn't smell bad. So he must be good!

The Gryphon stepped forward slowly, sniffing at the stranger's outstretched palm. Then, chirping happily, he jumped into the stranger's arms and allowed him to carry him away.

He would find his Piece, and everything would be okay.

-x-

Nny stared the cavern down, eyes narrowing as he distributed his Deck across his armour and his knives. "This is gonna suck."

'Says you.' Shoulder-Gaz stared down the cavern as well, a smirk playing across her lips, 'You're what? Level twenty? That's a pretty good jump for a level one-to-fifteen boss.'

"Yeah but—"

'"But" nothing! Get your butt in there and win, you wimp!' Ah, there was the Shoulder-Gaz he knew. Blunt and caustic, just like his sister.

"Yes ma'am!" With a snarky salute, Nny stepped forward into the cavern. The BGM changed, from the light melody of the Field, to a haunting waltz in A-Minor. Almost in sync with the beat of the BGM, Nny stepped forward slowly, cautiously. 'Whatever this Field Master is, it's gotta be creepy with the way this cave is looking.'

There were spiderwebs everywhere, clinging to the ceiling and the walls, blocking his path, and getting in his mouth and hair. "Bluh, bluh, blargh!" He spat, the Immersion Effect taking hold of Nny as he walked forward. "Ugh, I freaking hate spiderwebs."

'Me too,' Shoulder-Gaz griped. She had spiderwebs sticking to her face and hair. Shoulder-GIR, on the other hand, was having a blast hanging in one of the more complete webs.

'help me! help me!' He squealed.

Nny rolled his eyes, 'Comic-relief at it's finest...' He inched forward a little more and then halted abruptly.

Right in front of him was a small humanoid—who looked pretty familiar—with a small mat of black hair on its head and pale skin. Nny half expected the thing to be hissing about its 'precious' and coughing its name. A soft clicking noise could be heard emanating from the humanoid. 'Be careful,' Shoulder-Gaz warned, 'this may be the Field Master.'

"Oh, but it looks so harmless..." Nny unsheathed his knives, regardless of his ideas on the alignment of the thing before him. Better safe than sorry.

'So do I,' Shoulder-Gaz warned.

"Fair point." Nny crept up on the humanoid, knives at-the-ready, and gently poked it in the back with the hilt. The thing turned around and Nny let out a girly shriek.

It wasn't human, that was sure. In fact, apart from its silhouette, there was not a single human thing about it. It had three sets of eyes, each one milky white and useless, and its mouth split into four pieces, each one a mandible dripping with venom. Its head turned a full one-eighty and its arms were jointed three times instead of the normal one time. It crab walked, metal legs ripping from its ribs and propelling it forward with insane speed. Nny almost propelled himself backward with the massive amount of 'NOPE' he was feeling upon seeing the Field Master do that.

'Don't run, you coward! Fight back!' Shoulder-Gaz screamed at Nny from the sidelines, one leg propped over the other.

"Easy for you to say!" Nny shouted back, scrabbling to block its web-attacks with his dual blades. He managed to stave off most of the damage, even dealing some damage of his own, when he finally caught a glimpse of its stats.

He almost peed himself when he saw the HP on the sucker. "One thousand four hundred?!" He was aghast, "That is way too much for me to handle right now!"

"Perhaps," purred an unfamiliar voice off from behind Nny, "I can be of assistance~! " Large vines, covered in thorns tore into the spider-freak. It shrieked and fell away, pixilated ooze dripping from its wounds.

Nny turned to face his saviour and almost dropped his knives. "Z-Zim?" He stammered out, sweat pouring from his person as he surveyed his saviour, "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"Saving you, silly~ " His saviour was indeed Zim—or at least he thought he was Zim, he was acting far too effeminate to actually be Zim. Black pompadour, green skin, blue eyes, pink uniform; every last detail spoke of Zim in his human disguise. Every last detail, except his strange way of addressing Nny.

"I—uh—thank you?" Nny hauled his butt back into gear and began attacking the Field Master—who's name turned out to be 'Symbiotic Mechavore'—with renewed vigour. With Zim's help, the thing was soon defeated, and the multitude of Cards were collected by the two of them.

Nny caught a glimpse of Zim's Card and frowned, "King of Hearts? You don't seem to be the person to be in the House of Hearts, Zim."

"Well you don't seem the loner type, D~i~b~ " Zim replied with a coquettish wink. "Besides," he primped his hair with one gloved hand, the other clutching a large rosebush-like staff, "I believe Zim to be the master of hearts, so King of Hearts is a demotion. He is perfect, after all."

'Wait...he?' Nny blinked, understanding finally reaching him.

'Not this guy,' Shoulder-Gaz groaned.

"Keef?!" He scrabbled away from the Player Character, horror written across his features.

"Took you long enough," Zim giggled, blowing Nny a kiss, "I mean, really. I knew who you were from the moment I saw you, but you. Didn't. Know. Me." He pouted, "frankly Dib, I'm hurt."

"H-how?!" Nny stammered out. He could not process what was going on, 'Zim is Keef?! And then there was Iggins...Does that mean that every Player Character here is going to be someone I know?!'

Zim shrugged, "I found this game from a Tumblr download link. I thought it looked fun, and it was~ " He lazily leaned on his staff and pointed to the corner of the cavern, "What I want to know is: how come you haven't opened the chest sitting in the corner." Nny shot a look where he was pointing and saw the chest, just sitting there.

"Why haven't you taken it?" He didn't bother walking toward the chest, he was too focused on making sure Keef wasn't going to stab him in the back.

"Oh, I don't need it. " Keef stood erect and proudly showed Nny his staff, "I have Fleur de Lyse. You need it 'cause you're severely under-equipped. I am here to help, you know~ "

Nny decided then was a good time to open the chest, dispute his misgivings about Zim and his intentions. That, and Shoulder-Gaz was glaring at him. He opened the chest and found a large, black trench-coat with the title 'Waste-Lock's Armour'. He donned the coat and marvelled at the massive leap in his DEF and DEX. Amazing what a simple piece of clothing can do for the stats.

"Fit's like a glove, huh?" Zim winked at Nny, who shuddered, "Glad to see you've at least got the sense to mod your basic armour."

"I learned that the first time 'round," he admitted sheepishly. "So," he began, "Why are you helping me? I thought that only one person could beat the Black Queen and beat the Game."

"Well, silly! I like you! In fact, as soon as I heard about your joining the game from the grapevine, I knew it was destiny! Sure, my Zim-buddy isn't here, but Dib-buddy is, and that's just as good! I knew it was my mission as King of Hearts to help my buddies."

'Creepy...,' Shoulder-Gaz shuddered, eyeballing Keef with malice.

'i think he's fluffy! an adorable! sides,' Shoulder-GIR giggled, 'he's got some pretty flowers with him!' He went on to sing a Chipmunk's rendition of "Painting the Roses Red" from Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland'.

"I believe," a melodic voice chimed in, "that you should leave this one alone, master."

Nny paled, "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing~ !" Zim waved dismissively, "Just the Flowers."

"'Just the Flowers'?!" Another voice added, this one low and melancholy, "I am offended, master."

"We are more than 'just the Flowers'," a third, child-like voice commented. "We are your Creature, and you our Piece, master."

"Aww, don't get all huffy! I just didn't want Dib-buddy to get overwhelmed with your awesomeness!" Zim giggled again and pulled three small things from his pocket. They were three small seeds that he planted them in the ground, and where they were planted, grew the Flowers: a yellow violet, a red daffodil, and a blue rose; each one had a face, and none of them looked pleased.

"Master," the red daffodil complained, leaning in towards Zim, "This one is a Piece!"

"A powerful Piece, master," added the blue rose.

"You should be careful around him, master," the yellow violet commented snootily, "he is dangerous and should not be helped. You should have left him to die by the claws of the Field Master, master."

Nny was speechless, "Three Creatures?"

"One creature, three bodies," Zim corrected, "and they are precious babies, aren't they~? " He coddled the three flower blossoms, who looked rather pleased at the turn of events.

"Master," chimed the daffodil.

"We love you," the rose crooned.

"We love you so much, master," finished the violet.

'Euch...this is too sappy for my tastes...' Shoulder Gaz made a move to abscond, only to be stopped by Shoulder-GIR's mad jig.

"Look, this is all fine and well, meeting you here and stuff...but this cave is creeping me out. Can I go now?" Subtext 'you creep me out'. Nny started walking back towards the cavern entrance, making sure to travel the same path as before so as to avoid spider webs. Zim followed after uprooting and pocketing the Flowers. Once outside, Zim grabbed ahold of Nny and pulled him into his bosom.

"I have news for you," he whispered dramatically, "news about your Creature."

"You what?!" Nny's voice was muffled under the layers of pink fabric he was now inhaling, "Tell me!"

"Oh, he's safe~ " Zim assured the frantic Nny, "and I know where he is. He's at the Castle of Hearts."

"Take me," demanded Nny. Unbeknownst to him, Shoulder-GIR began dancing harder.

"I will, and I'll help you level up; under one condition, however."

"What? I'll do anything!" Nny pushed himself away from Zim's crushing embrace and intently stared the Player Character in the eyes.

"Help the House of Hearts out."

"Pardon?" Shoulder-GIR's dance got harder and started to freak Shoulder-Gaz out.

"There's a factional war going on between the White side—I don't have time to tell you all of it, but it's pretty nasty—and the House of Hearts is at a disadvantage, because we have more passive players than the other Houses. Therefore, a massively active player such as yourself should be able to tip the scale in our favour! "

"That's it?" Nny was confused, he figured the favour would be more intense or demanding, but this worked.

'What kind of dance are you doing, and can you stop?!' Shoulder-Gaz demanded.

"Unless you want to kiss me as well~ !" Zim winked and pursed his lips.

'this isn't a dance, it's a jig! a jig of GRAVE DANGER!' Shoulder-GIR danced harder, eyes flashing white and cyan in spurts.

"No thank you," Nny deadpanned, "I'm gonna just...help you..."

'Hey, Dib?' Nny shot a glance over at Shoulder-Gaz and Shoulder-GIR, silently asking "what?" 'I think we should be on our way.' She gestured to the sky above the Field, which was covered in grey, swirling, ominous clouds. The ground rumbled and Nny glanced back over at Zim.

"I—I think we should go," he blurted out.

"Why? What's wrong? It's nice here! " Zim's fingers splayed across his mouth lazily, and he smiled.

"He has a point, master," the daffodil said.

"There is something wrong here, master," the rose added.

"We must be on our way, master, just look around you," the violet finished.

A look of surprise crossed his face and he glanced around, noticing the sudden greyscale of the Field and the turbulence above them. Suddenly serious, he stood erect and offered his hand to Nny, "C'mon. Let's go to the Castle of Hearts together~ "

Nny took his hand and opened his map, selecting B-four and preparing himself to move. Suddenly, the Field's BGM changed, slowing down and skipping slightly. The background animations slowed too, lagging and skipping all over the place as all colour leeched from the graphics.

Zim swore loudly in a language Nny didn't recognise, "Looks like there's no time for both of us to leave! Flowers!"

"Yes master?" They chorused.

"Protect Dib! Make sure he stays safe! He's your master now!" Zim handed the small seeds over to Nny, an apologetic look crossing his face. The rumbling grew louder as the clouds above swirled and the lagging increased.

"But—" cried the daffodil.

"You can't—" the rose exclaimed.

"Master—" the violet choked out.

"Just do it!" Zim selected B-4 on Nny's map and looked at him sadly, "Sorry I couldn't be much help. Consider this a parting gift~ " Within the last seconds of Nny being on C-3, Zim gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye buddy!"

Nny disappeared in a flash, the Flowers with him, and then the Field opened up. Large Thorns ripped out of the ground and swallowed up Zim as the Field distorted, turning into a Black Field. Pockets of green acid oozed from underneath the turf, smoking and causing the plants to rot on contact. The entire Field was a wasteland, and its crowning achievement was the rigid form of Zim, petrified and surrounded by Thorns.

-x-

"Madam!" The Rabbit huffed as he entered their meeting-space, breathless from his run in cyber-space, "terrible news madam!"

"She has taken another Field; I know." 'Madam' didn't even bat an eye at his news, but he wasn't finished yet.

"There was a Player there, the King of Hearts! The Piece of the Flowers! Madam, this is dangerous! She is disregarding all laws set before her!" The rabbit was flustered, how could he possibly be more clear about how dangerous this was?!

"She WHAT?!" 'Madam' flew forward and grabbed the rabbit by his lapel, "You'd better be lying, or I SWEAR..." Her hands shook with pent-up fury as she dragged him to be eye-level with her. "Tell me you lie," she hissed.

"I-I cannot lie, madam. The Black Queen has tainted a Field with the King of Hearts on it." A scream issued forth from 'madam's throat as she threw the rabbit across the room. "But madam," the rabbit protested, "there is good news!"

"LIES! YOU LIIIIIE! There can be no good news! There is only bad news flowing from your lips of lie!" She was having a full-on mental breakdown now, throwing the biggest tantrum the rabbit had seen so far. Her limbs flailed wildly as he attempted to get close to her, causing him much pain when they connected with his fragile frame.

When he finally got close enough, he whispered, "Dib and the Flowers got away." Then his world dissolved as he exited their meeting-place, fully satisfied with his perseverance. 'She'll calm down soon,' he reasoned, 'then we'll talk more.'

'I hope...'

-x-

The Queen laughed whole-heartedly, cackling as she viewed her new Field, "A stroke of luck," she purred, "That we captured a Piece."

"Agreed. If—WHEN—she finds out, she'll lose her temper again!"

"Again?! I'm sure she's losing it now. What a loser!" She chortles this time, a full-on belly-laugh that stems from the cruel undermining of 'madam's character and jejune humour at her expense.

"I would have to disagree. I think she's sulking right now."

"While we are allowed to have different opinions," the Queen noted, "Mine is correct and you should sod off."

"Make me."

"Maybe I will," she sneered.

"Have at it then!"

"I will!"

And with that, all ideas of world domination lost in the sea of a petty squabble, the Black Queen argued with herself, alone in her throne room, her hands wrapped around her own neck.


End file.
